


Fear

by Tiger_Lilly13



Series: Elisa and The Asset [4]
Category: The Shape of Water (2017)
Genre: Angst and Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Heavy Angst, No Smut, Non-Consensual Touching, Not Canon Compliant, Rape/Non-con Elements
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-06
Updated: 2018-04-06
Packaged: 2019-04-19 10:42:50
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,427
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14235540
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tiger_Lilly13/pseuds/Tiger_Lilly13
Summary: As Elisa and the asset become closer, an interruption sets in motion the events that changes her life forever.A different take on how Elisa found out that the asset is going to be killed.





	Fear

**Author's Note:**

> TRIGGER WARNING!!! There is non consensual touching and manhandling in this. This is totally not canon and just an idea that I had and wanted to share. It hurt to write this but here it is. I am posting a really fluffy and smutty piece right after this one so bear with me.

Elisa shakes her head at her new friend with a patient smile as he attempts to copy her odd hand gestures. She repeats it slower, opening and closing her fingers gradually on each letter for him as he watches carefully. His arm is propped up casually against the edge of his little pool, the ridges above his eyes pulled together in a cute, little scowl of concentration. When she finishes spelling the word, she nods to him in encouragement and he lifts his large, webbed hand from the water, droplets falling off his scales as he tries his best to repeat it back to her.

Her lunch was finished twenty minutes ago, but she has gotten distracted, as she usually does when spending time with the asset in T-4. For the past two weeks she has been sneaking into the lab whenever she can for a chance to see him. He is either in his pool or inside his tank, but whichever one it is, he is always happy when he recognizes her, yapping and chirping loudly, making her smile brightly and causing anxious butterflies to flutter in her stomach.

Today though, she is teaching him his first words of sign language. He seemed to be able to comprehend facial expressions and he definitely can appreciate music, much to her delight. Since he didn’t have the voice to speak normally, like her, she decided that maybe there was a way to teach him her own unique ways of communication. He has already learned, _“Hello”_ and, _“Okay”_ and Elisa is so thrilled to finally be able to speak with him that time has gotten away from her. No one was scheduled to be in this room for another hour at least, so if she hurried through her other duties, then she should be alright. As long as Mr. Fleming didn’t catch her exiting the lab.

It was slow at first when she started their lesson, but he always gave her his complete devotion and participated in whatever she asked of him with eagerness. It warmed her heart that he would indulge her in this, even if he wouldn’t be able to reciprocate the more complex words. But when he is finally able to sign, “E-L-I-S-A.” correctly with little fumbling, she nods enthusiastically with a grin, pointing to herself, her finger tapping on her chest. He chirps excitedly a few times and points to her with a clawed digit, then signs her name again faster and with confidence. She breathes out a laugh and continues to nod her head at his animated hand movements.

Unintentionally, Elisa has leaned forward over the border of the small pond, one arm supporting her and the other landing on his webbed hand that lays against the edge in her giddiness that he was able to sign her name and understand her. When she realizes how close she is to him, their faces only about twelve inches from each other, her smile slowly fades and her breath catches in her throat. His movements also cease and he eyes her intently, a quiet, purring rumble beginning in his chest. He doesn’t pull back from her, even flipping his hand deliberately so that their palms lay against each other, closing his fingers around her with a tilt of his head and a slow blink. Her gaze lowers to their entwined hands and then rises to his eyes. She can see the ambers of the large orbs swirl and melt together, the intricate patterns of his scales shimmering like emeralds and golden diamonds. He is even more beautiful up close.

Elisa flicks her eyes down to his full lips and licks and bites her own, a heat rising on her neck and a spark running down her spine into her core. She begs to kiss him, feel his mouth moving against her own, run her hands over his wet scales and hard muscles. She will not lie to herself. She feels something more between them than friendship. She is drawn to him, an almost tangible rope that pulls her to him, and she doesn’t try to fight it, nor does she want to. He lets out the softest warble and leans in closer to her, their lips now only a breath apart. All she would have to do is close the gap, shut her eyes and feel his…

The blaring horn and motorized groan of the entrance pulls her out of her trance. She yanks back from her friend and turns around to watch the large door slide open. Her eyes widen in shock, her stomach sinks and her heart seizes in dread when she sees who has intruded on their intimate moment.

Strickland. 

_Oh no._

The creature hisses and ducks under the water, back pedaling rapidly when he recognizes the other human. Elisa quickly hops up from the edge of the pool to run to her abandoned cart, quickly taking out a few items at random and hoping to look busy enough for him not to bother her. That man has been an absolute torment. Not only to her friend, but to her as well. His unwanted gaze roams her body shamelessly whenever she is near and she shudders in disgust every time she is forced to be in the same room with him.

Once the door closes with a mechanical clunk, he spots her rummaging through her equipment and his eyes enlarge in surprise, his tone mockingly sincere, “Oh, didn’t’ realize you were still workin’.” Elisa looks up at him and gives a small nod to acknowledge him, hopefully seen as being considerate and then takes out a dust pan and a small broom, moving to the opposite side of the lab to kneel on the ground and pretend to be cleaning. It was the only idea she could come up with to be as far away from him as possible.

As she sweeps the floor for non-existent debris, she watches him out of the corner of her eye carefully. She notices him swinging his prized cattle prod around that he uses to torture her friend and she prays that he doesn’t use it when she is in the room. Her heart wouldn’t be able to handle hearing the creature in that much agonizing pain again. Thankfully though, he lays it down on the counter beside her, but that’s when she realizes he **is** beside her, standing right next to her hunched form, making the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. Her fake sweeping slows down as her eyes keep on his shoes. He puts his hands on his hips as he looks down at her, “We never really get a chance to talk much, you and I.” He snorts to himself, “Well, me doing the talking I guess. And since we are in the same space so often, I’d say it’s time we got to know each other.” Elisa has no idea what he is talking about, but his insinuation makes her feel extremely uneasy. The tension in the air is suffocating and she prepares herself mentally for his next move. She is used to insults and being degraded, but this man terrifies her more than any other she has come across.

She vaguely hears the chains rattle from the pool and she glances to see the creature has his head above the water, observing the exchange with his brows drawn together.

“You know what I like about you?” She involuntarily jolts at his sudden voice in the near silent lab, “You’re silent.” He begins to circle her and her eyes are glued to his black shoes as they scrape along the floor, “You can’t complain, can’t criticize, can’t say no,” Elisa’s jaw clenches and her breath is stuck in her throat, her body frozen in fear. When she doesn’t respond to his words and keeps her head and eyes down, Strickland squats next to her, his close proximity creating a new wave of terror to settle over her. He leans in towards her and whispers, “Can’t say stop.” She swallows thickly as he tilts his head. She continues to ignore him, her eyes darting everywhere but his face with her heart picking up speed.

She inhales sharply in alarm as he suddenly reaches out and grabs her roughly by the bicep, yanking her to him violently, her body forced to collide with his. Her neck strains backwards but she has no choice but to look at him, his breath nauseatingly sweet with a tang of bitter copper. It’s revolting, and she has to suppress the urge to gag as it fans over her face, “I like it. Really gets me going.” Elisa’s bottom lip trembles, her eyes stinging in horror, “Makes me hard.” He raises his mangled hand to her hair, tucking it behind her ear and grabbing her face between his fingers to try and bring her lips to his. She squeezes her eyes shut, tears forced from her eyes as she twists in his grip, attempting to fight his hold and squirm away from his fowl smelling fingers and his unwelcome touch.

A thunderous roar echoes throughout the lab and Elisa whips her frightened eyes to the pool. The creature is standing at full height, his teeth bared, his claws outstretched with his gills flared. He is panting heavily with a primal growl, his gaze fixed on the man assaulting her. Strickland turns his head slowly with a sadistic smile forming on his lips to face the angry creature. He stares at the assets intimidating, at least to her, display with narrowed eyes for a moment, and then says slowly, “So, the assets got himself a little crush.” 

Before she has time to react, he abruptly stands, grabbing Elisa by the hair on the back of her head. She gasps at the sharp pain and grabs his wrist with both hands, digging her nails into his skin, trying to get him to let go. Strickland yanks her backward toward the pool, her legs kicking and dragging behind her in a full panic. The creature is snarling and growling like a beast, pulling on his chain that keeps him trapped in the water.

Once at the edge, her tormentor wrenches her up, pulling some strands from her scalp painfully and forces her to face the enraged creature. Strickland pushes her closer as he yells, “This what you want? Uh!?” She isn’t frightened of the snarling being in front of her, but she can’t help but be a little fearful as he roars loudly again making her ears ring, clawing at his shackles and grabbing the chain trying to dislodge it from the wall. She knows that he would never hurt her, but she does not want to be used as a tool in Strickland’s sick games against him. His fiery, amber eyes contain the very meaning of hostile and the promise of an excruciating death for Strickland if he was to get free.

The vile human pulls Elisa up and near his own face, making a show of smelling her neck with a vicious, toothy grin. She visibly shivers in disgust, flinching away from him with a grimace as her muscles tense. Tears spill down her cheeks as he leans forward and lays his dry, cracked lips on her throat, never taking his amused, aggressive eyes off the beast. 

In Strickland’s revolting desire to show dominance over the creature and molest her, he miscalculates how far over the red line he has crossed.

In a flash, the creature springs forth with a roaring growl and swipes his large claws hard against Strickland’s face, gouging four angry gashes from his temple to his mouth, warm blood spattering over Elisa’s skin. The man rears back with a pained shout, taking her with him momentarily before he tosses her down on the ground, her head barely missing the side of the pool. She lands on the concrete, scraping her knees and her palms to stop herself from smacking her skull against the pavement. Strickland sputters and coughs, and he snarls at her while holding his shredded cheek, “Hurry and finish up.” He raises his head to the creature and points at him with his damaged hand, his dead, pale fingers hanging limp, “Good thing they’re cutting you up soon, you filthy fuck.” Elisa physically winces at the insult, but her heart stops in her chest when she registers his words.

_What? Cutting him up? What does that mean?_

The creature hisses and growls with hatred in his eyes, not understanding the human’s words, but knowing with the tone that it was a threat. With a grunt, Strickland turns and limps to the exit while holding his mangled face, leaving a trail of thick blood on the floor. Elisa does not raise her head as she hears the large, metal door creak open and then close with him on the other side.

Once the man is gone, Elisa hears the creature yap insistently at her still shaking form on the floor, trying to get her attention. She looks up at him and his gills have flattened and his eyes are full of sorrowful concern. He reaches out to her with the hand that attacked Strickland, his claws still dripping crimson. She doesn’t hesitate, bolting up and climbing up over the edge of the pool. She immediately throws her arms around him, burying her face in his shoulder, the cold, metal of his collar digging into her flesh. He returns her embrace possessively, purring and trilling in comfort and relief that she is safe in his arms. The front of her uniform is getting soaked but she doesn’t notice or even care. Tears flow down her cheeks endlessly as she quietly sobs, her body trembling. He rubs her back gently as she worries over what Strickland had said.

They are going to kill him. Open him up, chop him to pieces and study him for some gruesome and twisted experiments. She had heard rumors about it, but rumors are fickle in this place, she never believes anything she hears anymore, and that is one rumor she refused to even consider. But now, she knows that her friend that she has come to love is going to be brutally slaughtered for the entertainment of power hungry murderers.

She shakes her head quickly back and forth while squeezing her swollen eyes shut at that thought, holding on tighter to him. No, she won’t let that happen. She can’t.

_I have to get him out of here._

**Author's Note:**

> I'm so sorry!!! I didn't want to hurt them, but this idea just wouldn't leave me. Other than the horribleness of it, what did you think?? If anyone thinks I need to add the Rape trigger, than let me know. I don't want to unintentionally upset anyone.
> 
> Don't worry, another smutty piece is being posted right now, I promise.


End file.
